69 THE FIRST UMBRELLA

Once an elf-child went out to play. He was an odd little fellow who wore a queer little coat. The bottom of this coat was cut into sharp points.

The elf-child wore a pointed cap and tiny pointed shoes. Even his little ears and nose were pointed.

He was having a good play. He rang the blue-bells and blew the trumpet-flowers. Then he tied a spider's thread to a bit of thistle-down and made a kite.

He ran after his kite until by and by he was far from home. Then the rain began to fall. The big drops came thick and fast.

“This is a new cap and coat, ”said the elf, “I do not want to get them wet. What shall I do? Oh, I know what to do! I will hide under a big leaf.”

So the elf hunted for a leaf big enough to keep him dry. But he could not find one.

Then he saw a toadstool. “Oh this toad-stool is better than a leaf! ”he said. “It will keep me snug and dry.”

So the elf crept under the toadstool. But someone else was already there. It was a little mouse, fast asleep.

Now the elf was afraid of a mouse.

“If I stay here, this great beast may eat me up, ”he said, “If I go away my new cap and coat will get wet. What shall I do? ”

The elf peeped around the stem of the toadstool. But the mouse had not seen him. He was still fast asleep.

Then the elf thought of something. He smiled to himself. “I know what to do to keep my coat and cap dry! ”he said.

He began to pull at the stem of the toad-stool. He put both arms around it, and pulled and pulled. It was very heavy, but at last it came up.

Then the elf-child ran off with the toadstool over his head.

The mouse was left out in the rain. He got up and shook himself. “Squeak, squeak! ”he said, “How very wet I am! Where is that toadstool? ”

The toadstool was far away. The elf-child was holding it over his head. He was snug and dry, and his new cap and coat were safe. “Now I know what to do when it rains! ”he said.

And that was the first umbrella.

(Carolyn S. Bailey)

Word list

odd: strange, unusual

thistledown: soft material from the thistle plant

crept: moved slowly and quietly

stem: the long, thin part of a plant

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) What did the elf child look like?

2) How do you know the elf had made a kite before?

3) Why didn't the elf want to get wet?

4) Why was a toadstool a good place to get snug and dry?

5) Why was the elf afraid of the mouse?

6) Besides a leaf or a toadstool, what else would make a good umbrella for the elf?

B) Use your imagination—This story tells about the first umbrella. Choose one of the following objects and write about you think the first one can to be.

bicycle shovel doorknob cane scissors wagon fork key socks

C) True or false? Read these sentences carefully. Write true or false for each one.

1) _____ The first umbrella was a toadstool.

2) _____ The elf child and the mouse were friends.

3) _____ The toadstool made a good umbrella.

4) _____ The elf child's cap and coat got wet.

5) _____ The elf child was very sad at the end of the story.